Suspension - Strut Lengths Changed
90pontiac12Bulletin Number: 88-3-33
Reference Number: 073301
Publish Date: 3/90
Subject: REPLACEMENT OF STRUT ASSEMBLIES - 25 MM STRUT ROD VS. 22 MM STRUT ROD
Models
Affected: 1982-88 SUNBIRD MODELS AND 1985-88 GRAND AM MODELS
In the 1988 and 1989 model years, Sunbird and Grand Am vehicles commonized from 25 mm and 22 mm diameter strut rods to 22 mm diameter strut rods on all Sunbird and Grand Am models as follows:
All service stock in GMSPO (for Sunbird and Grand Am vehicles) has been commonized to the 22 mm diameter strut rod, with specific internal valving for individual applications. Therefore, when ordering replacement struts from GMSPO, any struts received will have 22 mm diameter strut rods, even if the vehicle involved was originally equipped with struts with 25 mm diameter rods.
The difference in strut rod diameter has no noticeable effect on vehicle handling, performance, or strut durability. Therefore, when replacing an individual strut on a vehicle (due to accident damage, etc), it is not necessary to replace both struts due to different strut rod diameters.